Boa constrictor rescued from N.C. 133 in Brunswick County
Two brothers were just driving along N.C. 133, near Orton Plantation, on Wednesday morning when they noticed a large snake - different from those native to the area - in the roadway.
“We thought it was a rattlesnake,” said Billy Ballard, of Oak Island. But a closer look and, later, an expert opinion revealed it was actually a boa constrictor that stretched at least 7 feet long.
The snake had been injured, and a pool of blood circled around its head, Billy Ballard said. So, not wanting the snake to suffer, he and his brother Ronnie picked it up and placed it in the bed of their pick-up truck.
“He just hissed,” Ronnie Ballard said.
“He sounded like a dragon,” his brother added.
The brothers, on their way to Wilmington for an appointment, brought the snake to the StarNews, where about a dozen people - the ones who apparently did not have a phobia of snakes - came outside to hear the brothers' story.
The brothers weren't afraid of handling the thick snake, which had brown and black cryptic markings, and they even held its head high in the air with its tail dangling below to show its length.
“We were raised with animals and with snakes,” Billy Ballard said.
The brothers said they were looking for a veterinarian to treat the snake, and a StarNews representative contacted the Cape Fear Serpentarium. The owner of the Serpentarium, a well-known snake collector, said he'd be happy to check out the boa.
The brothers said they hoped the Serpentarium would help the snake recuperate.
“He's wounded. We just have to care for him,” Billy Ballard said. “He's got a family. You can't tell me he's just a stray.”
Boa constrictors aren't native to North Carolina and can't survive on their own in winter weather.
“It was probably someone's pet,” said Dean Ripa, owner of the Serpentarium.
He said the boa, named “Lucky Snake” by the Ballard brothers, would have died within a month because of falling temperatures. Boa constrictors are native to tropical climates, such as in South America, and they tend to live alone, according to information from National Geographic.
“Even the temperatures we're getting now are starting to be dangerous for him,” Ripa said. “By Halloween, he'd be getting pneumonia.”
He said a wild boa would attempt to bite people, but this one was tame and simply stuck out it's flickering tongue when the men circled around it. The boa also was dirty and muddy, and Ripa estimated the snake had been released or escaped since May.
Ripa and others at the Serpentarium plan to examine the boa's injuries, help it rehabilitate and then give it to a good home.
“It looks like he's all right,” Ripa said, though he noted the snake appeared to be limp.
The Ballard brothers said it seemed meant to be for them to see the injured boa in the roadway Wednesday.
“I'm thinking this don't happen every day,” Ronnie Ballard said. “This is once in a lifetime.”
Shannan Bowen: 343-2016
On Twitter.com: @shanbow
Type: Reptile Diet: Carnivore. They will eat almost anything they can catch, including birds, monkeys, and wild pigs. Average lifespan in the wild: 20 to 30 years Size: Up to 13 feet Weight: 60 lbs Did you know? Some South Americans keep boas in their houses to control rat infestations. Source: National Geographic